Previously:
"It's not over…? What does that mean?" Kagome asked. Katsumi had a bad feeling about what he said.
"Kagome, are your spiritual powers unsealed?" Katsumi asked.
"Huh? Well… I don't know. I don't feel any different..." Kagome said.
"Keh, he's just bluffing, obviously," Inuyasha said.
"Doesn't it mean that Magatsuhi isn't completely dead yet?" Kohaku suggested.
"..." Sango said. 'It can't be...'
—∞—
Back in the storage shed in Kaede's village, something strange was happening to Miroku. An evil energy surrounded him.
"Th… This is…!" Kaede said.
Chapter 25: The Jewel's Completion
"Rin is in danger!" Katsumi said suddenly, listening to her intuition.
"Eh?" Kagome said.
"She may be right!" Sango said. "Houshi-sama sucked up part of Magatsuhi… and Rin was also hit with Magatsuhi's toxic aura and has been unconscious ever since!"
"She's still unconcious!?" Katsumi asked. She wasn't aware that it had been that serious. She and Sesshoumaru immediately headed back to the village.
"We should return to the village, too. I'm worried about Houshi-sama and the others," Sango said urgently.
"Right!" Inuyasha agreed. "Let's go, Kagome."
"Right..." Kagome said. But as Inuyasha moved toward her, Naraku appeared right behind her with what appeared to be insect legs coming out of him. "!" she gasped.
"Naraku…!" Inuyasha said. Naraku quickly trapped Kagome with his insect legs. Some of her arrows were dropped in the process.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said.
"Kukuku, Kagome… I didn't even need to hide behind a barrier, since you couldn't even tell where I was..." Naraku said mockingly. "It looks like your spiritual powers haven't returned yet."
"!" Kagome said.
"Naraku, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled, drawing Tessaiga again.
"Hmph… What's wrong, Inuyasha? Don't hold back on me. Kill me," Naraku mocked him.
"Khh..." Inuyasha said, gritting his teeth. They both knew he couldn't hit Naraku without hitting Kagome, too.
"Don't worry, I won't kill her," Naraku said. "Not until I take Kohaku's shard..."
"!" Kohaku said. A multitude of tentacles came out of Naraku's back. Some of them shot straight at Kohaku.
"Naraku!" Sango said, throwing Hiraikotsu. "Did you forget about Hiraikotsu's power!?" Hiraikotsu destroyed the tentacles.
"Kukuku, Sango… The part of my body you're currently destroying is a part that I don't mind throwing away..." Naraku said. "The part that Sesshoumaru cut off before was equally unnecessary. My body is limitless."
"Tch!" Sango said, catching Hiraikotsu.
"Ugh..." Kagome groaned. 'The shikon no tama inside Naraku's body… If I can get that, he would become defeatable… where is it!? His head!? His neck!? Or maybe his heart!?' She saw it. "Inuyasha! Sango-chan! The shikon no tama is in Naraku's right shoulder…!" she yelled. "!" Naraku squeezed her until she passed out.
"Hmph… So this means your power to locate the jewel still remains..." Naraku said.
"Naraku, you bastard!" Inuyasha said, swinging his sword. It slammed into the ground.
"Kukuku… What were you trying to hit, Inuyasha?" Naraku asked, floating in the air inside his barrier.
"Khh…!" Inuyasha said.
"What's the matter? Do you value the shard over Kagome's like?" Naraku asked. Inuyasha gritted his teeth and growled.
"Dammit..." Sango cursed.
"Kagome-sama..." Kohaku said.
"If you don't hand over the shard, Kagome will die," Naraku said.
"Naraku, you bastard… Don't bullshit me!" Inuyasha yelled.
'Even so, as long as Kagome-chan is held hostage… he can't use any of Tessaiga's big attacks without putting her in danger,' Sango thought. "Hiraikotsu on the other hand…!"
"Hmph. You think that if you use Hiraikotsu, you can kill me…?" Naraku asked. "Just try it." He dropped his barrier.
'He took down his barrier!?' Sango thought. 'If I can completely destroy the shikon no tama… Naraku will die!' Sango urged Kirara forward and attacked Naraku's shoulder as they passed. "Did I do it…!?" Naraku looked back at her. He was clearly injured, with his shoulder torn open. Miasma was leaking out. He smirked at her. "!?" Two tentacles shot out of Naraku's back, headed straight for her. "Uwah!" She managed to block them with Hiraikotsu, but she was pushed off of Kirara.
"Ane-ue!" Kohaku shouted.
"Sango!" Inuyasha yelled. He rushed over and caught her before she fell into the ravine.
"Hiraikotsu's jyaki breaking ability didn't work!?" Kohaku said.
"Hmph…" Naraku said. The flesh on his shoulder and part of his chest had been torn open, revealing a hard, spiky shell.
"That's…!" Sango said.
"Meioujuu's armored shell…!" Inuyasha said.
"Correct..." Naraku said. "It was absorbed by the youkai Mouryoumaru… and that Mouryoumaru was in turn devoured and absorbed by me… It is the strongest armored shell of all youkais… Sesshoumaru's sword couldn't break it before, and your sword, Inuyasha was also useless against it..."
'He's focused that armored shell on protecting the shikon no tama!?' Inuyasha thought.
"And it withstood Hiraikotsu," Naraku said. "I was simply making you realize your futility." He looked at Kohaku. "Do you understand Kohaku? Aside from presenting me with your shard, there is no way to save Kagome's life." Kagome opened her eyes.
"If he gets his hands on the shikon shard, there's no way Naraku would spare Kagome-chan's life," Sango said.
'Instead, the instant he no longer has need for a hostage… he'll kill her on the spot,' Inuyasha thought. 'So even sealed away, Kagome's spiritual power is what Naraku fears the most.'
'How do we save Kagome-sama…?' Kohaku wondered. "!" He saw a light. 'The arrow that Kagome-sama dropped when Naraku attacked… I can see it glowing. That's right, inside my shard right now is Kikyo-sama's point of light.'
"Do you value your life, Kohaku? So much as to sacrifice Kagome…?" Naraku asked. He sent his tentacles in Kohaku's direction.
"Run, Kohaku!" Inuyasha yelled. "I'll save Kagome!"
"Gah!" Kohaku said as he and Kirara dodged the tentacles. Inuyasha sliced the tentacles off with his sword.
"It's useless," Naraku said, sending out more tentacles.
"Damn you!" Inuyasha said, cutting them, too.
"!" Kagome gasped when she felt herself sink into Naraku. 'I'm being sucked in!!' "Inuyasha!" she yelled.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Looks like you still don't understand. Which of us has the upper hand..." Naraku said.
"Naraku, promise me me!!" Kohaku said.
"Kohaku…!" Inuyasha said.
"If I hand over the shard… you'll return Kagome-sama safely," Kohaku said.
"It's a promise," Naraku said, smirking.
"Kohaku…!" Sango said anxiously.
"Stay away, Kohaku-kun!" Kagome shouted. "There's no way Naraku would spare me! Plus… if the shikon shard that binds your life is removed… you'll die!"
"He was lifeless from the start," Naraku said, sending out some tentacles to Kohaku. "Isn't that right, Kohaku."
"Lifeless..." Kohaku said, allowing the tentacles to grab him.
"Kohaku!" Inuyasha yelled, moving to stop them, but it was too late. Kohaku had been pulled inside Naraku's barrier.
"You died the day you killed your father and comrades with your own hands," Naraku said. "Both in body and spirit..."
"Right. At that time, I'd have been better off just staying dead..." Kohaku said. "I thought that many times."
"Kohaku-kun..." Kagome said.
"Kohaku..." Sango said.
"Everyday… I only thought of death," Kohaku said. 'However… it's different now! Ane-ue and Inuyasha-sama and everyone else… told me to live on and fight. I will definitely save Kagome-sama!' He pulled Kagome's arrow out from where he had hidden it under his armor. "Naraku!" He raised the arrow, ready to attack. The arrow glowed. 'Kikyo-sama's light and Kagome-sama's arrow have been connected by my hand!' he stabbed Naraku in the shoulder with the arrow, straight into the meioujuu armored shell. 'Naraku, I will defeat you! I will not die!'
"Khh!" Naraku said, gritting his teeth as the shell cracked.
"The armored shell that couldn't be broken by Tessaiga or Hiraikotsu…!" Sango said.
"It's breaking!" Inuyasha said.
'I can see it…!' Kagome thought. 'Light is flowing from the arrow. This is coming from inside Kohaku's shard… Kikyo's light!' The Arrow was almost close enough to touch the jewel inside Naraku.
"Khh…!" Naraku said, glaring. 'At this rate, if I continue to stay in contact with Kohaku, I'll be devoured by purifying light!" Naraku dropped Kohaku.
"!" Kohaku gasped as he fell.
"Kohaku!" Sango shouted. He was plunging into the ravine. She got on Kirara and flew after him.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. Naraku had stopped trying to absorb her and seemed to be more focused on running away.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. He charged at them, activating the adamant Tessaiga. 'I'll just crush Naraku's head!' Fortunately, Kagome wasn't right next to it anymore. "Kongōsōha!" He swung his sword and the adamant spears flew past Kagome to shred Naraku's head. The part of his body holding Kagome had been damaged too. She fell from his clutches. "Kagome!" Inuyasha jumped and caught her. "Kagome, you're not hurt, are you!?"
"No," she answered, relieved. They both looked up at the miasma cloud. "He ran and hid in that cloud..."
"Dammit..." Inuyasha said.
"Kohaku!" Sango called, looking for him. "!" she gasped when she saw him hanging from his sword, which he had stabbed into the side of the ravine as he fell. "Kohaku!"
"Ane-ue..." Kohaku said.
"Kohaku!" Sango said, relieved. 'Thank goodness...' "You held out well, Kohaku."
"Ane-ue, is it okay for me to live?" Kohaku asked.
"… You have to live, Kohaku," Sango replied. 'Live… and overcome it.'
—∞—
"Miroku, is it all right for you to be up?" Shippo asked when Miroku sat up on his bed of hay in the storage shed.
"Yeah… were you worried about me, Shippo?" Miroku asked.
"Houshi-dono..." Kaede said. "A while ago, and ominous aura was rising out of your body. Could that… possibly have been the part of Magatsuhi you sucked up with your Kazaana..."
"Most likely," Miroku answered. "My recovery seems too good to be true."
"Inuyasha and the others must have beaten Magatsuhi," Shippo said.
"Yeah," Miroku agreed.
Meanwhile, Jaken and Rin were out walking together.
"Honestly, don't worry me like that..." Jaken told her.
"Sorry, Jaken-sama," she apologized, looking straight ahead. "Everything's… fine."
"This isn't only a problem for you, Rin," Jaken continued. "If anything happened to you while Sesshoumaru-sama was away, I would be..." He realized she was walking ahead without him. "Hey. Are you listening to me!?" An ominous aura appeared around Rin. "Deh!?" he cried as he was thrown back by a huge gust. When he looked up again, Rin was flying away on a youkai. "Rin!"
—∞—
"Did Naraku escape?" Sango asked.
"Yeah, but… he must be pretty shaken by Kohaku's attack," Inuyasha said.
"Thank you, Kohaku-kun," Kagome said gratefully. "We were saved thanks to you."
"Thank goodness..." Kohaku said. 'We fought together...'
"Kohaku, everything's all right now," Sango said.
"Yes, Ane-ue," Kohaku said. 'My sins haven't been erased. However, I won't run anymore. I will stand and face them.' A piece of flesh from one of Naraku's tentacles separated from the main body part. 'From now on...' The piece of flesh shot through Kohaku's neck from the back, stealing his shikon shard. A little blood spurted from Kohaku's neck. Sango, Kagome, and Inuyasha's eyes widened when they realized what had happened.
'Eh…!?' Kagome thought. 'Kohaku-kun's shard was...' The piece of flesh flew up into the miasma cloud as Kohaku collapsed.
"Kohaku!" Sango screamed.
—∞—
"Rin was..." Miroku said.
"Abducted!?" Kaede said.
"Monk, it's that jyaki that came out of your body!" Jaken said. "Rin was surrounded by it..."
"Jyaki…?" Miroku said. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "Magatsuhi..."
"Magatsuhi kidnapped Rin, you mean?" Kaede asked.
"Jaken, How could this happen while you were with her?" Shippo asked.
"Don't say it!" Jaken said with tears in his eyes. He was covered in a nervous sweat. 'What should I do? Run!? If Sesshoumaru-sama comes back, I'm dead. Right about now...'
"So… Magatsuhi was still alive..." Sesshoumaru said as he landed right behind Jaken, who flinched big time. Katsumi came walking down to stand next to him.
'This is all my fault… I never should have left her!' Katsumi thought, furrowing her brow and clenching her fists..
"Sesshoumaru… Katsumi-san..." Miroku said. "What do you mean by 'still alive'?"
"Does it have something to do with the jyaki that came out of Houshi-dono's body…?" Kaede asked. But Sesshoumaru and Katsumi had already taken to the sky again.
"Ah..." Shippo said. "He could have at least answered us. Being a jerk, as usual."
"Yes, however… Katsumi-san didn't answer either," Miroku said. "They must be really worried about Rin."
'They didn't even notice me…' Jaken thought, staring up after them. 'Does this mean Rin is in danger!?'
'Wherever Magatsuhi is taking Rin, Naraku will be there...' Sesshoumaru thought as he flew and Katsumi ran. 'He can only have one objective… sealing my sword...'
—∞—
"Kohaku!" Sango cried.
"Kohaku-kun," Kagome said anxiously.
"Kohaku!!" Sango yelled. 'It's gone! The shikon shard that bound his life...' "Kohaku!!"
"Kohaku-kun..." Kagome said sadly. 'He's dead…?' Inuyasha stared down at them. He didn't know what to say. Sango remembered the hopeful look in his eyes when he asked if there was still time, if it was all right for him to live.
"Kohaku… Why?" she cried with tears in her eyes. He had just decided to live. She cradled his body in her arms. "Why!?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He would never forgive Naraku for this.
"Kagome! Naraku… Where is Naraku!?" Inuyasha asked urgently. Kagome looked up with tears in her eyes, searching for the shikon no tama.
'I can see it...' she thought. 'Naraku's completely black Shikon no tama...' She drew her bow and arrow. 'My sacred arrow… even if my spiritual power hasn't returned… I can still show Inuyasha the way!" She let the arrow fly, and it shot up into the miasma cloud.
"There!" Inuyasha said, activating the black Tessaiga. He targeted the spot Kagome showed him. "Meidou Zangetsuha!" The cloud flew away from the meidou he created. "!"
"Kukuku… Inuyasha… you couldn't even save a single small life like Kohaku's..." Naraku mocked. Inuyasha growled. "Kikyo's light has also died out. Kohaku's shard is tainted with my darkness." Kagome was shocked.
'I can't see it,' she thought. 'Kikyo's point of light is...'
"Khh…!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth in frustration. Sango cried over Kohaku's body. Inuyasha punched the ground. 'I couldn't save them! Kikyo… or Kohaku...'
"Inuyasha..." Kagome said. Tears were streaming down her face. 'I'm sorry, Kohaku-kun… I'm sorry...' Then, she saw something. A light in the back of Kohaku's neck where the shard used to be. 'Light! Kohaku is being wrapped in light. This is...' Sango couldn't believe it when she felt Kohaku move slightly. Then he opened his eyes. "Kohaku-kun!" Inuyasha looked up.
"Ko… haku…?" Sango asked.
"Ane… ue..." Kohaku said.
"Kikyo's light… let go of the shard and remained in Kohaku-kun's body," Kagome said.
'Kikyo...' Inuyasha thought. Even though she had said she would use Kohaku's shard to purify Naraku…
'Kikyo… chose to save Kohaku's life over destroying Naraku,' Kagome thought. 'So the battle with Naraku… is left to us.'
—∞—|—∞—
{A few days later...}
Katsumi finished setting up the wild boar she had caught for lunch to cook over the fire she made.
"Haaah..." she sighed heavily. They had been looking all over for any trace of Naraku or Magatsuhi or Rin's scents, her and Sesshoumaru. So far they had found nothing. Sesshoumaru was still searching, but Katsumi had to take a break to eat and recover her strength so she could keep searching. Her wound had completely closed, but she was still a little weak, which meant she got hungry sooner and had to eat more often. She looked at the empty space next to her, where Rin usually sat. She felt like she was going to cry. She missed Rin. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to her. She slapped her cheeks to snap herself out of it before she actually did cry. "Rin is all right," she told herself. "She isn't dead." She assumed her intuition would know if that had happened. At the moment, she still only had the sense that Rin was in danger. "If she's still in danger, she's still alive."
—∞—|—∞—
"It's been a long time, Kikyo..." Naraku said, staring at the corrupted shikon no tama that he held in his hand. "Though the shikon no tama was supposed to vanish with your body, it is now in my hand. Brimming with darkness…" He glanced briefly at the unconscious Rin, who was lying a few feet away from him. Magatsuhi's ominous aura surrounded her. "To the point that Magatsuhi, who escaped the jewel, no longer had room to return to it..."
"Naraku, what do you intend to use the jewel for?" Byakuya asked.
"What to use it for… Hmph..." Naraku said. 'Not a thing.' "However, my fate with Inuyasha and the others… with as much as they hate and despise me, I will devour that hatred and anger… I will redo my transformation, with the darkened shikon no tama complete. Therefore, this battle will be over when they are devoured by my darkness." 'I wonder if there will be anything beyond that...'
—∞—|—∞—
Katsumi caught up to Sesshoumaru.
"Anything?" she asked. He looked at her.
"No," he replied. The crease in Katsumi's brow deepened.
'They have to be somewhere,' she thought.
—∞—|—∞—
Naraku was staring at the shikon no tama again. It was the blackest it had ever been.
'The light has died,' he thought. He absorbed it into his hand. A dark light shined, and his body began to unravel and transform into something else, forming jointed insect-like legs that grew out beyond the cave and around Rin.
—∞—
"!" Katsumi said when she and Sesshoumaru saw swarms of youkais gathering in the sky and flying off in the same direction.
"Hmph. The youkais have begun to move," Sesshoumaru said.
"They look like they're being drawn to something..." Katsumi said. "Naraku!?"
"Most likely. Do you sense the jyaki?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Yes, it's massive. And it's coming from the direction of Kaede-baa-chan's village!" Katsumi said. They changed direction and flew towards the Jyaki with the other youkais.
—∞—
'Naraku...' Sesshoumaru and Katsumi thought when they saw the giant spider in the cloud of Jyaki.
'His form may have changed, but that's definitely his smell,' Katsumi thought. "He must have used the jewel."
"Hmph… Even transformed, in the end he's still just a spider..." Sesshoumaru said. Some of the youkais that had gathered flew at them. He drew his sword. 'Bakusaiga!' he cut them all down with one blow.
"The power of your new sword is really amazing..." Byakuya remarked, appearing behind them, standing on a flying youkai. "Bakusaiga or whatever it was called."
"Byakuya of the Dreams, huh..." Sesshoumaru said.
"Even after being cut, the pieces continue to be destroyed, and should the main body absorb those corpses, in the end it would be caught up in the destruction as well… huh," Byakuya said. "If you used Bakusaiga, even transformed like this, Naraku wouldn't stand a chance. So how about killing him without restraint?"
Deep inside Naraku, Rin was lying unconscious with one of Magatsuhi's eyes over her.
"Worried about your little girl?" Byakuya asked. "I guessed as much… She's here. Inside of Naraku." Sesshoumaru and Katsumi were instantly more alert. At that moment, spider webs began to shoot out of Naraku's spinneret. The webs ensnared the youkais around them, and Katsumi and Sesshoumaru had to dodge to keep from falling in the same trap. The webs dissolved the flesh of the youkais where they touched them. Inuyasha and the others came flying onto the scene. Miroku and Sango were on Kirara and Inuyasha and Kagome were riding one of the youkais that had been drawn there. Katsumi noticed Shippo wasn't with them. They must have left him behind.
"They're here," Byakuya said.
"That spider is…!" Kagome said.
"Naraku!" Inuyasha said.
"!" they said when their youkai flew straight into a web and had its head dissolved.
"Hang on, Kagome!" Inuyasha said, holding onto her as he leaped from the dissolving youkai. Naraku's body opened up before them.
"It opened!?" Kagome said. 'Naraku...'
'Opened his body himself…?' Inuyasha thought. Sesshoumaru and Katsumi rushed past them.
"Sesshoumaru!?" Inuyasha said.
"Katsumi-chan!?" Kagome said. Sesshoumaru and Katsumi disappeared into the darkness inside Naraku.
"Going to save their little girl without hesitation, huh..." Byakuya said. "I could cry."
"Byakuya of the Dreams!" Inuyasha said.
"Rin-chan is inside…!?" Kagome exclaimed with concern. No wonder they were in such a hurry. "Let's go, Inuyasha!"
"Right!" Inuyasha said.
"Sango!" Miroku said.
"Yeah, let's go!" Sango said.
"You're going in, too?" Byakuya asked. "If you do, you'd probably just get eaten..." Miroku held his sealed hand up. "Whoa!" Byakuya pulled back. "Thinking of sucking me up with the Kazaana?"
"Don't worry," Miroku told him. "Sucking you up would just..."
"..." Byakuya said.
'The Kazaana is already at its limit,' Miroku thought. 'One or two more times… and the Kazaana will tear, and I myself will be drawn into the Kazaana and disappear… If I want to continue living, we have to defeat Naraku here, and break the curse of the Kazaana.' He was determined to do so.
"Houshi-sama… We'll defeat Naraku. Absolutely!" Sango said with determination.
"Right, Sango," Miroku said. "And when everything is over and we return… Let's get married." Sango was touched.
"Right..." she said as they disappeared into Naraku together.
"Everyone just flew right in," Byakuya said. "Rather idiotic. If it were me, I'd just sacrifice the lone human girl hostage, and destroy Naraku from the outside."
"The inside of Naraku's body looks bigger than it appears from the outside," Katsumi observed as she and Sesshoumaru made their way through Naraku. The path they took had closed up behind them, so the only way through was forward. "!" She saw the humanoid version of Naraku emerge from the flesh in front of them. "That's… That must be a fake, but… Where's Rin!?" she asked it anyway.
"So you've finally come, Sesshoumaru, Katsumi," Naraku said. "Into my body..." Since he had no intention of answering them, Sesshoumaru destroyed the copy with his claws.
"Plan to destroy me from the inside…?" Naraku's voice echoed all around them. "That's fine as well..." A face grew out of the wall of flesh. "This is the interior of my body. Everything is me." Katsumi drew her sword and swung, sending a wave of youki at it. She destroyed the face, but Miasma came spilling out of the wound.
"Miasma!" Katsumi said. She could handle a certain amount of it, but she didn't want to go over that limit.
"What are you so concerned about…?" Naraku asked her. "Ever since you entered my body… You were already bathed in my miasma… Did you not notice it?"
"Of course I did," Katsumi retorted.
"In your weakened state, you should be more susceptible to it. And yet you haven't died..." Naraku said. "Why do you think that is? It's because the shikon no tama desires your souls."
"Our souls?" Katsumi asked, the crease in her brow deepening.
"You and Inuyasha's group. Your hearts which despise me… your anger, and… your despair," Naraku said.
"I'm not on speaking terms with despair," Katsumi said. "You'll have to try again."
"And if the girl dies?" Naraku asked. Sesshoumaru and Katsumi glared at him.
"Nothing in this world can save you if that happens," Katsumi promised.
"Kukuku… Fighting me also means… fighting the shikon no tama," Naraku said. "Do you think you can defeat that? The shikon no tama that has lasted hundreds of years?"
"There's a first time for everything," Katsumi said.
"Then why not use that attack of yours?" Naraku asked mockingly. "The one that causes malicious growths?"
"Because we don't know what will happen to Rin, if I do," Katsumi said, frowning. If the tumors bulged in the wrong place, she might be trapped and suffocated. She didn't doubt that it had occurred to him as well.
"Kukuku… That's right. So I'd be more careful about swinging your sword," Naraku said. Katsumi gritted her teeth and sheathed her sword.
"Come," Sesshoumaru said, walking on. "We've wasted enough time already."
Outside, the spider retracted its legs, folding them up.
"Huh… Now he looks like a ball..." Byakuya said.
Inside, Sesshoumaru and Katsumi continued to explore, searching for Rin. They didn't encounter any more of Naraku's flesh puppets and Naraku was silent. Despite what he said, he seemed hesitant to provoke them any further. Perhaps he was worried they might lose their patience and use their swords anyway.
"!" Katsumi said when she smelled Kagome and blood ahead of them. She quickened her pace and found Kagome lying on the ground, unconscious. There was a cut on her arm that had Inuyasha's scent. Katsumi kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking closer, she could see that the wound looked like claw marks. "Kagome?" She didn't stir. Sesshoumaru stopped a few feet away from them. He Katsumi both smelled youkais headed in their way. They were small fries, but it could be a pain if they became overrun.
"Wake her up," Sesshoumaru said. He turned and killed the first youkai with his claws.
"Kagome, wake up," Katsumi said. Sesshoumaru killed more youkais. "Kagome!" Katsumi shook her carefully. "Kagome!" Kagome slowly opened her eyes.
"Katsumi-chan?" Kagome said. 'Sesshoumaru...'
"Can you get up?" Katsumi asked. Kagome tried to move.
"Ah, ow..." She said, wincing. Sesshoumaru glanced back at them. More youkais came. He killed them. "You were… driving away the youkais…?"
"That wound… was caused by Inuyasha's claws, wasn't it," Sesshoumaru said. "So, the hanyou… has been consumed by Naraku's darkness."
"Y-You're wrong..." Kagome said. "Inuyasha is..." Sesshoumaru started walking away. "Ah… Wait!"
"Come on, Kagome," Katsumi said, offering her a hand. Kagome took it and stood up. They followed Sesshoumaru. "So, what happened?"
'Back then...' Kagome thought, thinking of the moment Inuyasha pushed her down the ravine. "Inuyasha pushed me. Before he lost sense of everything… he let me escape." 'Isn't that right, Inuyasha…?'
Outside, down in the village.
"Kaede-sama, that's..." one man said as they all gazed up at the black ball in the sky.
"Yes, most likely Naraku's transformed state..." Kaede said. "Quite ominous… it looks like an enormous corrupted shikon no tama..." Shippo stared up at Naraku too. He remembered Inuyasha's words before they left him behind.
If by some chance we don't come back… Shippo, you should carry on in our place.
"Just how long should I wait…?" Shippo wondered. He looked down. "I really should have gone with them..."
"Hmph, why are you saying that now…?" Jaken asked, startling him. Shippo hadn't seen him coming. "You can talk like that because you're in a safe place."
"So why are you here, Jaken?" Shippo asked. "Weren't you afraid of fighting and just went and hid somewhere?"
"What a terrible accusation," Jaken said. "While I was snugly nestled away quietly pondering my own future, it seems that Inuyasha and the others made their departure without my notice, and as such it only gives the appearance that I have come late..."
"Cut the long explanation!" Shippo said.
"..." They both stared up at sky.
"Shippo, I want you to fly," Jaken said. "It's fine for you to only take me as far as that black orb. I really should be by Sesshoumaru-sama's side… Hey! Where are you going by yourself!" he snapped when he realized Shippo was already flying away. "Yah!" He chucked his staff and Shippo, nailing him in the back with it.
"What are you doing!?" Shippo asked angrily, undoing his transformation to whack Jaken over the head with his staff.
"Um..." Kohaku said, drawing their attention to his presence. He was dressed in his youkai-slaying armor.
"Hn?" they said, looking at him, each sporting a bump on their head.
Inside Naraku, Sesshoumaru, Katsumi, and Kagome were walking together.
"Sesshoumaru… Katsumi-chan… You have a sensitive noses, right?" Kagome asked.
"Right..." Katsumi replied, focused on moving ahead. They couldn't see or smell Rin there, so they had to keep going.
'Even so… they can't figure out where Rin-chan is?' Kagome thought. 'The inside of Naraku's body… It's much more expansive than is appears from the outside...' "Ah…!" she gasped when she saw Rin sitting not too far away. "Rin-cha..."
"An illusion," Sesshoumaru said.
"It has no scent at all..." Katsumi explained.
'How ridiculous… does he intend to just tease us…?' Sesshoumaru thought.
In another part of Naraku, Rin was waking up.
"Ooh..." she said, opening her eyes. "Ah… What happened to me…? Where am I…?" She looked around and saw Magatsuhi's face looming over her. "Kyaa!" She started scooting away from him. "Magatsuhi…!" She got up and ran away. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Katsumi-nee! Please, help me!" she cried. "Ah!" she saw someone she recognized up ahead. "Inuyasha-sama!" Inuyasha turned to look at her with a scary face. His sclera was red, he had jagged stripes on his face, and his fangs were longer. He raised his claws.
"Inuyasha-sama…?" Rin said.
Sesshoumaru and Katsumi picked up their scents.
"She's close," Sesshoumaru said.
"Eh…?" Kagome said. "Rin-chan's scent…?"
"I'm going to fly," Sesshoumaru said. "You should grab on too," he told Katsumi. Katsumi nodded. He could fly faster than she could run. Katsumi and Kagome quickly grabbed onto his mokomoko.
"Aaaah!" Kagome exclaimed as he flew through Naraku at top speed. "Hang on a second! Is Rin-chan in danger!?"
"Inuyasha is there as well," Sesshoumaru replied.
"He's still in his youkai state," Katsumi added. Kagome was immediately concerned.
'If inuyasha were to hurt Rin-chan, Sesshoumaru would…' she thought.
"Inuyasha-sama…?" Rin said, taking a step back. Inuyasha stepped forward, flexing his claws. "Inuyasha-sama, is… that you…?" Inuyasha charged forward. Rin turned and ran. "Aaah!" she cried, skidding to a halt and falling down when she nearly ran into Magatsuhi's giant face. Inuyasha came up behind her.
"Don't… move..." Inuyasha said.
"Eh..!?" Rin said. Inuyasha jumped over her to swipe his claws at Magatsuhi. He went straight through him and clawed up Naraku's flesh instead. "Inuyasha-sama..." Inuyasha and Magatsuhi turned to face each other.
"Kukuku..." Magatsuhi laughed. "I was surprised… So, you still have a bit of your human heart left… However… It's useless… There is no way someone like you could even scratch me!" Magatsuhi dove into Inuyasha.
'Magatsuhi went into Inuyasha-sama!' Rin thought. 'Just like with Kohaku… He's trying to control him.' At that moment, Sesshoumaru appeared with Katsumi and Kagome in tow. "!" Rin said. "Sesshoumaru-sama… Katsumi-nee…!" Her hand sank into the flesh beneath her. "!" The rest of her was quickly drawn in.
'Rin...' Sesshoumaru and Katsumi thought. They hurried forward. The only part of Rin they could still see was her hand. Katsumi let go of Sesshoumaru's mokomoko and used her boots to jump off the air like a springboard and dove past Sesshoumaru to grab Rin's hand before it disappeared. She caught it. She tried to pull Rin back up, but then she began to sink into Naraku's flesh at an alarming rate herself. But she refused to let go of Rin. She held her hand out to Sesshoumaru. Only her face and hand were visible. Sesshoumaru reached for her, but Inuyasha stepped over her to stand on the spot. Her face and hand disappeared.
"Katsumi-chan!" Kagome yelled. Sesshoumaru stood in front of Inuyasha. He and Kagome could see Magatsuhi's eye behind him. Magatsuhi made Inuyasha draw Tessaiga.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome said. 'Is he… possessed by Magatsuhi…?'
"Hmph, Magatsuhi… you picked the wrong person to possess..." Sesshoumaru said. He drew his sword. 'Tenseiga!' Shesshoumaru lunged forward to attack. "I'll cut you apart along with Inuyasha!" Tessaiga turned black.
'Meidou Zangetsuha!' Kagome thought. "Stop, Inuyasha!"
Meanwhile, outside Naraku, Kohaku was flying on Ah-Un with Shippo and Jaken toward Naraku.
"Jaken-sama. Weren't you planning on riding on Shippo over to Naraku?" Kohaku asked.
"If it's a ride you need, don't you have one?" Shippo asked. Why didn't he just take Ah-Un on his own to begin with?
"Shut up!" Jaken said. "Why should I have to ride by myself!"
"Aren't you kind of misunderstanding the point?" Kohaku asked. "Shippo is just a kid, after all..."
"Like you can talk," Shippo said. "But, Kohaku, you were the only one Sango told not to come..."
"But… It's too late to go back now," Kohaku said. They had already arrived.
"Na… Naraku…?" Jaken said.
"He's kinda bigger than I thought," Shippo said. A meidou appeared in Naraku's body, creating a hole for them to go through.
"That was…!" Kohaku said.
"Inuyasha's Meidou Zangetsuha!" Shippo said. A handsome man with cornsilk hair, blue eyes, triskeles tattooed on the backs of his hands, and glowing wings flew past them into Naraku.
"Who was that suspicious character?" Jaken asked.
"No one we know," Shippo said.
"Let's go!" Kohaku said, urging Ah-Un forward.
"What," Jaken said.
"What," Shippo said.
"W-Wait," Jaken said. "On second thought, we really would be a liability..."
"It's closing!" Kohaku said.
"Aaaaaah…." Jaken's voice echoed as they disappeared into the darkness.
Inside, Sesshoumaru still faced Inuyasha.
'He missed… on purpose…?' Sesshoumaru thought.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome said. Tessaig transformed into its main form.
'Tessiaga…?' Sesshoumaru thought. 'Tessaiga is… maintaining Inuyasha's last bit of sentience!?' Tentacles came up under Inuyasha and held him as one tentacle took away Tessaiga.
"Inuyasha!!" Kagome said. 'Tessaiga was…!' Inuyasha was pushed up into the next level above them. Tessaiga remained behind with them.
'He escaped...' Sesshoumaru thought. "Take Tessaiga! We're going after Inuyasha and Magatsuhi!"
"Right!" Kagome said, running over to get the sword.